Archive for the ‘brady mcconnell’ tag

Every year I say i’ll stay away from the Mock Draft links … and every year I come back. Here’s a running collection; i’ve listed their top-5 and then who they project the Nats to take at #25 (if they project out that far). Honestly, projecting even the top 5 has been folly in year’s past; last minute changes occur all the time and drastically change the top of every draft. Look no further than the 2011 draft that netted the Nats presumed top pick Anthony Rendon.

I’ll continue to add in mocks as they get published post-posting up until the draft.

However this year you’ll notice that the same general collection of names are listed in nearly every top 5 collection. Here’s a quick summary of those top-5 guys.

Collegiate top-5 names:

Brendan McCay: 1b/lhp Louisville. All-American as a Soph. 2016 Collegiate National team. Good two-way player likely being drafted as a pitcher.

Alex Faedo: rhp Florida. 2016 Collegiate National team; #1 starter from Florida, less known for developing pitchers but who did have two 1st round arms drafted just last year (A.J. Puk, Dane Dunning).

Jeren Kendall OF Vanderbilt. 2016 Collegiate National team; was presumptive 1-1 before really struggling at the plate in 2017, opening the door for one of the above college arms likely going 1-1.

J.B. Bukauskas rhp UNC via Ashburn, VA. 2016 Collegiate National team, fantastic numbers leading UNC to its first national seed in a while. Considered undersized (he’s 6’0″) but has a big arm; widely projected at #6 to Oakland but does get some top-5 press.

Tristan Beck rhp Stanford who did not play in 2017 due to injury but was a pre-season all-american; some thought he may get picked as an injury stash like we’re seeing more and more.

Adam Haseley, 1B/rhp from UVA who has massively improved his draft stock this year. He went from being just a good player to being mentioned in the top 5 in some mocks. I don’t think he goes top-5, but he’s gone before the top-10 is done.

Prep top-5 names:

Hunter Greene: ss/rhp Notre Dame High, CA (UCLA commit). 2015 18U team as a Jr., Standout at PG Nationals 2016. Two-way talent, 95-97 on the mound but also a fantastic hitter. 18U National team trials. Area code star. Likely getting drafted as an arm, might be the first prep RH starter to go 1-1. Stopped pitching mid-way through the spring though, presumably to save his arm for his first pro season.

Shane Baz, rhp from Concordia HS, TX (TCU): fast mover, mid-90s big righty in the same prep construction from the Houston area as the likes of Josh Beckett, Jamison Taillon and Tyler Kolek. I don’t think he’s a top-5 pick but should be top-10.

Here’s the Mock draft collection that i’ve saved over the past months. If you know of one I’m missing, let me know and I’ll add it in.

MLBPipeline (Jim Callis) 2017 Mock Draft v4.0 6/9/17: Wright, Greene, Gore, McKay, Lewis. Nats on Clarke Schmidt, a good RH starter from South Carolina who had to have TJ surgery (sound familiar?). However, in his mock this leaves Houck, Pearson and Carlson on the board, and I think the Nats would take any of those three ahead of TJ guy.

MLBPipeline (Jim Callis) 2017 Mock Draft v5.0 6/12/17: McKay, Greene, Gore, Lewis, Hiura. Wow. Nats taking Seth Romero, a LH starter who was just kicked off of UHouston’s team, his 3rd “strike” with the team. Sounds like a winner to me and I hope the Nats are not foolish enough to take a 3-time suspended college player. Problem is, he’s a Scott Boras client, and people are worried that Boras is talking to the ownership again…

D1Baseball (Frankie Piliere) 2017 Mock Draft v2.0 dated 6/9/17: Wright, Greene, Lewis, McKay, Gore. Nats taking Romero. Problem with this mock: the next 3 after Romero are Carlson, Peterson and Lange, and I’d have to think the Nats would take any of those three over Romero.

HeroSports.com (Chris Crawford) 2017 Mock Draft v4.0 dated 5/12/17: McKay, Greene, Wright, Bukauskas, Beck. Nats taking Jordon Adell, a prep OF from Kentucky who entered the year projected near the top of the draft but whose stock has fallen precipitously. I could see the Nats having him ranked high and (much like what happened with Lucas Giolito) them taking the chance if Adell is still available after being a top-5 rumored guy entering the 2017 season.

PerfectGame.org (Brian Sakowski) 2017 Mock Draft v1.0 dated 5/10/17: Greene, Wright, Lewis, McKay, Beck. Nats taking Hans Crouse, a prep RH starter from California. Crouse is good, but I can’t see the team taking a prep 1st rounder if the likes of Houck and Lange are on the board.

SI.com (Jay Jaffe) Mock Draft v2.0 dated 6/12/17: Wright, Greene, Gore, McKay, Lewis. Nats again on Romero. This mock leaves Pearson, Houck, and Carlson on the board, which I have a hard time believing would happen (that the Nats would take head case Romero over any of those three).

Seedlings to the Stars/Calltothepen.com (Benjamin Chase) Mock Draft Final dated 6/12/17: Greene, Wright, Gore, Lewis, Adell. Nats on Griffith Canning, UCLA’s friday starter who projects as a slight framed #3 starter. I saw him in the CWS regionals and wasn’t terribly impressed. Chase’s final mock is kind of out there; he’s the only guy who has Greene 1-1 and he has a ton of guys normally being projected to the Nats very early.

TheBigLead.com (Ryan Phillips) Mock Draft v1.0 6/7/17: Wright, McKay, Greene, Lewis, Gore. Nats taking Sam Carlson, a prep RHP from Minnesota who is highly ranked on every board that I see, but has some risk being a skinny RHP from a cold-weather state whose entire profile is based on his showcase results. I’d guess the Nats would prefer a college arm.

I think the risk-averse Twins will go with a solid college arm at #1, picking Wright. This lets the rebuilding Reds at #2 take the guy who is probably the best player in the draft in Greene, who might just be the next Dwight Gooden. At #3 San Diego can afford to take a prep kid since they too are rebuilding, taking Lewis. At #4, Tampa takes the solid, fast moving McKay and internally debates whether to put him on the mound or in the field. At #5, Atlanta can’t help themselves (they love taking local guys) and takes the North Carolina prep product Gore, who might be the 2nd best player in this draft. Oakland passes on Bukauskas thanks to his two late season iffy outings and goes with the next best collegiate arm on their board.

My top 5: Wright, Greene, Lewis, McKay, Gore.

ACTUAL DRAFT Results (added after the draft): Lewis, Greene, Gore, McKay, Wright. Reportedly McKay wouldn’t take an under-slot deal at 1-1, so Minnesota popped Lewis instead, allowing McKay to go 4th to Tampa where he still probably sets a bonus record. Lewis going 1-1 shakes up the order of the top 5, but not the top 5 themselves.

Who are the Nats going to take at #25:

I like the projections for a solid college arm, so if Houck or Lange is there, look for that as the pick. I could be talked into Schmidt as another TJ reclamation project. If a highly regarded prep falls (Adell, Hall, Crouse, and especially Carlson) look for that as a longer-term play pick. Notice not one projector puts them on a bat, so the talk of MSU’s Brent Rooker seems unlikely here. I think they’re set on a polished college arm to quickly move up and start to fill holes that will soon be left when the likes of Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez hit free agency.

Actual Nats #25 Pick (added after the draft): Seth Romero, LHP from Houston. Most of the pundits above called it correctly; the Nats take Romero.

Its been a while since we hyper-monitored for the #1 pick in Nats town … but for draft-wonks its a fun time of the year. The tail end of the season, especially a season where multiple teams were in “rebuilding mode,” is fun to see who’s in line for the #1 overall pick next year.

So, as of 9/22/16, the Twins have a 5 game “lead” over Atlanta for the #1 overall pick, and they’re bottoming out, having gone just 6-24 in the last month or so. Meanwhile, the Braves, who everyone thought was the shoe-in for the worst team this year, has a 17-13 record in its last 30 and has shown signs of life enough so as to cost themselves the #1 pick next year. At the rate they’re all going, Atlanta may end up dropping even further down thanks to the Reds and their historically awful pitching. Arizona has been playing decently but comes to Washington for a 4-game set.

Here’s a quick look at the 2017 candidates for going #1 overall. Mind you this is amazingly early, especially for the high school kids, but there’s a few specific names that are rising above the others in this class.

High Schoolers in competition for 1-1 overall:

Hunter Greene ss/rhp Notre Dame High, CA (UCLA commit). 2015 18U tema as a Jr. Standout at PG Nationals 2016. two-way talent, 95-97 on the mound but also a fantastic hitter. 18U National team trials. Standout at Area code games. Basically Greene is so talented on both sides of the ball that there’s disagreement as to which way he should go. Most pundits think he’s drafted as a pitcher and if he can’t cut it that he can move to the field.

Jordon Adell of/rhp Ballard High, KY (Louisville). 18U National team trials. Area Code stand out. He is a hitting prospect through and through; he won the HR derby at the Area Code Games.

There’s a distinct gap between Greene/Adell and the next grouping of HS players, which include a couple of high-end lefty prospects in D.L. Hall and Trevor Rogers, a couple of middle infielders in Brady McConnell and Royce Lewis, and a powerful 1B prospect from Miami named Alejandro “Alex” Toral, but the two above are the cream. Its worth noting; no prep RHP has ever gone 1-1, which works against Greene in that slot.

Collegiate players in competition for 1-1 overall:

Jeren Kendall OF Vanderbilt. 2016 Collegiate National team

Alex Faedo rhp Florida. 2016 Collegiate National team

Kyle Wright rhp Vanderbilt. 2016 Collegiate National team

Brendan McCay of/lhp Louisville. All-American as a Soph. 2016 Collegiate National team

Jacob “J.B.” Bukauskas rhp UNC/Ashburn. 2016 Collegiate National team

I think they’re ranked roughly in this order too; Kendall is the name most frequently mentioned as 1-1 overall candidate right now; safest pick, an OF from a baseball factory. I think Faedo and Wright go before local product Bukauskas, but its definitely looking like he’s projected top-10 at this point. McCay is right there as well, with a great pedigree and likely being a 2-time All American by the time he’s done.

But we’re an awfully long way from next June. Nobody had Mickey Moniak at the top of their boards at this time last year.

PS: i’ve got a draft version of the “Local 2017 draft candidates” to watch, but in a spoiler (we won’t publish it until next Feb/March) there’s nowhere near the projected local talent in 2017 as there was this year (when we saw two local prep players drafted in the top 3 rounds plus a few other local guys in the top 10). But right now here’s who i’ve got as the best local prep players for 2017.

Kyle Whitten, RHP/1B from Osbourn Park in Manassas, VA. WWBA 2015 with Team Stars, 2016 Evoshield 17-U team. At the USA Baseball 18U national trials in June 2016 (and made 40-man roster). Early commit to UVA. Evoshield 17U team at 2016 Marietta/Cobb. PBR Class of 2017 top 10.

Tyler Solomon, C/1B from Battlefield HS in Haymarket, VA. 2015 WWBA Team Evoshield 17-U, 2016 All 6-A North Region 2nd team. 2016 Evoshield 17-U team. At PG National 2016. At the USA Baseball 18U national trials in June 2016. Early commit to Vanderbilt. Evoshield 17U team at 2016 Marietta/Cobb. All PBR DC/VA team 2016. PBR Class of 2017 top 10. Area Code Games 2016.

Jeremy Arocho, SS from Old Mill HS in Glen Burnie, MD. 2015 WWBA Team Evoshield 17-U, 2016 Evoshield 17-U team. At PG National 2016. 18U National team trials. early commit to Maryland. Evoshield 17U team at 2016 Marietta/Cobb. Area Code Games 2016.

Matt Cooper, C/1B from Norfolk Academy. 2016 VISAA Division I all-state. 2016 Evoshield 17-U team. At PG National 2016. Early commit to Clemson. 2nd Team all-Tidewater 2016 as a junior. American Family 2016 1st team All-Virginia as a junior. Evoshield 17U team at 2016 Marietta/Cobb. All PBR DC/VA team 2016. PBR Class of 2017 top 10. Area Code Games 2016.

Tanner Morris, MIF from St Anne’s-Belfield HS/Miller School of Albemarle. 2015 WWBA Team Evoshield 17-U, VISAA A All-State 2016. 2016 VISAA Division II all-state. 2016 Evoshield 17-U team. At PG National 2016. Early commit to UVA. American Family 2016 1st team All-Virginia as a junior. Evoshield 17U team at 2016 Marietta/Cobb. All PBR DC/VA team 2016. PBR Class of 2017 top 10. Area Code Games 2016.

They’re the only three players from DC/MD/VA who were invited to the 18U team trials. Four of these five were the sole local reps at the Area code Games. So its probably safe to assume at this point they’re among the best 2017 draft candidates. But are they top-5 rounds good? We’ll see.